Most of the Ebay stuff does not fit well and sometimes requires custom "work" to fit.

The SVT header, CAT, and flex provide the highest gains possible and usually can find on the For Sale section for not to much. Trubendz makes good fitting exhaust (some people have noted problems with going with their 3" kit) you can get a 2.5" exhaust from them for a few hundred and have different muffler and material options.

The SVT header does require the SCT CAT, Flex, Oil Dipstick, and possibly a power steering line if you dont want to bend it out of the way. But will get you the best power gains.

The "Best" exhaust system is the FSwerks stealth system. will stay quite unless your on the gas hard. so no highway drone and you also still see a gain in performance and is high build quality.

Only time you have to worry about ZX3 or ZX5 is for the exhaust. I think the ZX5 is the same length as the sedan (the ZX3 might have the same wheel base also... cant recall). Will want to have another confirmation.

The "best" exhaust system can be argued. I have seen several people who swear by TruBendz, MRBP, Borla, FSWerks, Magnaflow, etc... the list can go on and on. It's all about what you think is best sounding to you. As Magus had stated, the Ebay stuff you get will more than likely require some extra work to install it properly. I have seen Ebay headers that are misaligned and cause leaks. As you will hear(read) from a majority of people on here they would recommend the SVT header and that is something I would recommend you as well. It may cost more up front, but in the long run it will be cheaper for you than the Ebay set up. You can pick up a used SVT header, flex and cat or ORP for around $300 and you will know for a fact that they will align up right. But that is just my opinion. There have been several who got lucky and had their Ebay headers actually work but they will also tell you that they had to modify it a bit to work properly. As for the exhaust length, you will need to add about a foot to make the ZX3/5 exhaust work on the sedan.

I agree with the eBay header issues. I tried one on my automatic ( Zetec ). The fitment was terrible because the auto engine is set in the engine bay differently than a manual trans. The bracket didn't fit at all where the flex/cat normally would. The header was too long. In turn, that caused the flex pipe to hit the underbody at the top of the curve. Also, the header flange at the flex pipe is a three hole flange. There should only be two holes. You'll never find a replacement flex pipe if the one provided craps out. I bought mine without knowing any better. Spend the extra money one a proven quality setup. As stated above, catbacks are anyone's preference. I've had Trubendz, OBX, and now a Bosal. I can't complain about any of them.

the best header will be the SVT header conversion using the factory SVT focus exhaust manifold/header, flex pipe, cat/off-road pipe, oil dip stick and tube, and power steering line.

the best exhaust is whatever you can get your hands on that you like that is cheap and is between 2.5 and 3inch diameter piping. the more you can open the exhaust with a SVT header the more power you will make but most people run a 2.5 inch exhaust because its pretty difficult to make 3 inch exhaust sound halfway decent unless you have turbo.

The reason why I said "best" is because so far its the only exhaust that I have never heard of any one complain about bad fit, noise being to loud, high way drones, ugly/oversized tip that needs to be replaces, hangers in wrong place, etc. Their are many great exhaust systems out there.

Do YouTube video searches and find the one with the sound you like the most.

Yeah, the FSWerks Stealth exhaust is almost as quiet as the OEM unless you stomp down on the gas pedal. If you ever get the FSWerks race header and have a straight through exhaust...your ears will be bleeding after a five minute run lol. I had the race header for about two months. I also have a JBA 2.5"exhaust which only had a muffler before the axle. Let's just say that with the addition of that race header I was getting constant headaches from it being so loud. I would hate to see how loud it would be with straight pipes.

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